Off Topic - Signs your getting old a Tuesday morning reflection - Revisted

Signs your getting old a Tuesday morning reflection

I wrote this post a while back as an e-mail to some friends. I was supposed to dye my hair last night and didn't, for some reason this popped into my mind so I searched for it and found it. It's off subject, I hope you enjoy it.

 

Today I was given the tell-tale sign of my aging,there were little signs leading up to the sledge hammer sign that hit me right between the eyes. After taking my P.O.S car back to the shop to most likely bleed me of another $1,000.00. I decided to go to the .9999 store to pick up a few things, because I damn well wasn't gonna buy them from the rip-off supermarkets. (1st sign of the morning, not only getting older but still broke!) After meandering down the aisle in the early morning hours with the blue hairs,I went to check out. As I stood in line lost in space a voice came from behind me. I turned to see that the voice came from a white haired old man probably in his 80's. He struck up a conversation about me being lost in space, "What are you thinking so hard about?" he asked. I gave a friendly little chuckle and we chatted for a few seconds. He then asked if he could get ahead of me in line, since I am always trying to change my bad line Karma I said go right ahead. Now in front of me the old man turned and said do you want to hear a joke? I said sure and he began to tell me the joke, as he told me the joke I had to bend closer to hear him and asked him to repeat himself, a real joke killer.(Another sign diminishing hearing!) The joke was an oldie but goody here it goes, "What's the difference between a government bond and a husband? The government bond matures, ha ha ha (I didn't have the heart to tell him that you couldn't even depend on the bond maturing these days.) (Oh and knowing the joke another sign.). Ok, here it comes, the sledge hammer, as the old man finished his transaction with the cashier he turned to me and said "thank you Ma'am, have a nice day"....Ma'am, Ma'am it was one thing being called Ma'am from a young kid but from an old man in his eighties. Holy crap! An old man called me Ma'am. So I went home and headed straight for the mirror to see what the hell he was talking about, Ma'am my butt maybe he should get those cataracts removed, the audacity! After looking in the mirror now I need to go back out to the store for hair dye.  

Food Addiction how sweet it is.....not really.

What makes a Voluptulifer different from most everyone else? Well a lot of things but there is one in particular. This story may explain; One day sitting in a favorite restaurant finishing a delicious meal with a fellow Voluptulifer, there was a short lull in our lively conversation. As if this lull was some sort of Vulcan like mind meld she begins to tell me basically what I was thinking.  She begins telling me that when she eats, especially something she really enjoys on the first bite she gets an immediate rush, similar to what she has heard drug addicts experience when they take that first pill, hit etc etc. She tells me that the rush she gets is physical not just psychological or emotional. She tells me that more often then not food is on her mind.  When she food shops if she brings a treat home she'll put it away and then won't stop thinking about it. I immediately jump in and say that I experience the same thing, especially with sugar. The first bite of a favorite dessert is like a fuse being lit in my brain that explodes in a wash of feel good. I tell her that's why I am not taking a doggie bag home 'cause I know that I will just think about it and then eat it soon after I get home. I agree with her analogy comparing her experience with one similar to a drug addict, or alcoholic. I have read that drug addicts/alcoholics are always chasing the high, that feeling they get when they first take that drug or drink that drink, all they think about is how and when they will get their next high. I agree with her analogy, but think it is way worse for a food addict because you have to eat, you can't go on the wagon. I mean can you imagine an alcoholic who was required to drink at least 2 to 3 times a day? It would be very close to impossible for that person to stick to drinking just one drink.

All during our lunch at the next table sat three slim women, each ordered twice the amount of food we had. They were engaged in what seemed like a good conversation, three friends out for a lunch enjoying the afternoon. The difference between these women and my friend and I was that we really enjoyed our food. I mean it wasn't the main enjoyable focus of our time together but it was sure more important to us then those ladies. Only one of them ate about 1/4 of her food, the others snacked on a fry or two. They all asked for doggie bags to take their food with them.  I commented to my friend that they're not going to eat that, now if it were me I would find it hard to stop thinking about that doggie bag.

Unfortunately over-eating or eating very rich foods or for some eating all the wrong foods often comes along with a food addiction and along with that a more Voluptuous figure. Couple that with a genetic predisposition, slower metabolism, a sedentary lifestyle(that many of us have thin or hefty), an extreme enjoyment of gathering friends and family around a meal, a penchant for trying new restaurants and diverse foods, well that's a recipe(no pun intended) for a Voluptilifer.

Those who are not Voluptulifers have a hard time understanding those who are. They can't understand the emphasis put on food. Some are perplexed but many are down right nasty and discriminatory.
I've been reading lately about the Digestive System being considered the second brain. Like the brain  the Digestive System has neurotransmitters and produces 90% of the Serotonin in our bodies. Scientist once believed that the Brain sent messages to the Stomach, but they have discovered the opposite actually the Stomach sends messages to the Brain. Serotonin regulates mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction and some cognitive functions like memory and learning. I am sure that with further study of the second brain and all of it's interactions with the brain,  food addiction will be explained and considered a real physical condition, and hopefully a therapy or cure developed.    


Until then I will continue enjoying the social eating aspects of a Voluptulifer, but like an alcoholic I will have to put some types of food on the wagon......


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=gut-second-brain

You can get with fat or you can get with that.

I have been a fat chick for most of my life with some brushes of near thinness a few times. I didn't gain my weight after having a baby, or when in college or because I am older like I hear so many profess. I hear all the time, I just can't seem to loose this baby weight or yeah, now that I'm older I can't seem to loose this pot belly. I was born a big baby didn't measure long, I weighed a lot. I was a chubby kid through grammar school and when I reached Junior High School I basically starved myself thin (guys and clothes a teen girls source of will power). The years that followed were the typical yo-yo years of an Voluptulifer. Not to be confused with a Velociraptor though the ravenous instinctual qualities are similar. The social chase of the prey and sharing the bounty of their hunt I can see the similarities that might cause confusion. So label me and other people who have been fat all their lives as a Voluptulifer(my preference) or Pleasantly Plump, or Husky but if you are a Fatist this probably isn't the blog for you. Stick around and learn something or find another blog to stalk. So you can get with Fat or you can go get with whatever you want to get with.

Other than pure addiction(I believe that part of being a Voluptulifer is being addicted to food), the reason I remain fat is that eating is my past time. One of my favorite things to do is eat, eating out and eating at parties, BBQ's and any other occasion. I love trying out new restaurants, bakeries, coffee houses and now I am enthralled with Foodie Trucks. Damn what a concept, chasing foodie trucks this is my kind of fun it's like searching for buried treasure, a scavenger hunt, or solving a mystery. First finding out which truck you want to try, then where it is located, on what night, then when you catch up with one hanging on the hood of your car with you buddy like you did when you were a teen 'cept your also enjoying a delectable Brie Grilled Cheese Sandwich or a spicy Vietnamese sandwich on french bread instead of cigarettes and......

I am not so much a fast food eater, not saying I never eat fast food just not so often because though it may satisfy the addictive characteristics of a Voluptulifer, it lacks most of the Social Quality of eating. Drive through then scarfing and usually when alone or even if it is with someone else it's fleeting not very social. Unlike chasing food trucks where you or your partner are shotgun navigating like Bonnie and Clyde or Thelma and Louise except your 50plus pounds heavier. Or getting together with friends and dining at your favorite or next favorite restaurant.

I am not sure where this blog is going may just take on a life of it's own or it may be Confessions of a Fat Chick, or restaurant critique or how to loose weight while remaining a social eater or it could end here. We'll see.